The present invention relates to timer devices and, more particularly, to an electronic reminder device to remind a person to engage in an activity at a particular time such as taking or dispensing medication.
Devices have been developed to remind persons to take medications on a particular time schedule. Such devices can be quite sophisticated, tracking multiple medication schedules. Some medication reminder devices are programmed by a physician or a pharmacist, while others can be set up by the patient. Some devices incorporate compliance tracking features in which the patient presses a xe2x80x9ctakenxe2x80x9d button to store a time stamp when a medication is taken.
Many medication reminder devices are geared toward prescriptions involving taking a medication multiple times within a day, mostly for a single medication and usually for a limited number of days. As such, it is relatively easy for the patient to remember what medicines the reminder are associated with.
Some actions are regularly taken at relatively long time intervals, such as the use of certain medications. For example, certain kinds of heartworm medications for dogs are given at monthly intervals. There are scheduling software products for computers and xe2x80x9cpersonal digital assistantsxe2x80x9d (PDA""s) which could be used as a reminder for such an activity engaged in at a long interval schedule. There is also a known device for reminding a pet owner to administer a medication on a monthly cycle, sold as the ALRT Pet Reminder from ALR Technologies, Inc. of Bellingham, Wash. (www.alrt.com). The ALR device is programmable, has light and an audible alert which are activated at a preset interval, and is provided in a shape, such as a dog paw shape or a bone shape. When the reminder device activates, the pet owner is alerted that some activity related to the pet should occur, but is not informed exactly what activity is called for.
The present invention provides a reminder that is associated with a particular brand of a product or a specific entity or organization. The reminder is adapted to remind a user to engage in an activity, such as use of a product associated with the reminder, when the device activates.
The reminder includes a logo plate or lens which is mounted on a housing in front of a display device or light source such as a light emitting diode. The logo plate includes indicia formed in or printed on the logo plate. The indicia is preferably formed on the logo plate such that portions of the indicia or the adjacent surface are either transparent or translucent to highlight the indicia when the light source is activated. The light source is activated by an illumination signal which is generated by a timer circuit at a preselected interval.
A reset button is provided on the housing and connected to the timer circuit. When pushed or selected, the reset button resets the timer circuit for the preselected interval and deactivates the light source. An audio alarm or sounder may also be connected to the timer circuit, and activated and deactivated in the same manner as the light source. Batteries are preferably used to provide power to the reminder.
Magnets are also preferably mounted to a rear surface of the housing to facilitate mounting of the reminder on a metal surface such as a refrigerator or metal cabinet.
Objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in relation to the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.